It is common knowledge that surgical treatment of various eye diseases frequently necessitates the removal of the eye crystalline lens (lensectomy) followed by substituting the eye lens with an artificial intraocular lens or lenticulus. As a rule, the majority of such artificial eye lenses need further suturing of the supporting elements to the iris, which is in fact a rather complicated surgical intervention, especially when the the lens is to be fixed to the inferior portion of the iris. This operation is fraught with possible dislocation of the lens when the pupil is being dilated, such being the case if the lens is introduced through a puncture in the iris which is known, e.g., from USSR Inventor's Certificate No. 545.352, wherein an artificial lens provides for the presence of a lens and supporting legs outside the pupillary area, and the lens has at least one loop-shaped leg to pass a suture attaching the lens to the iris.
With a view to attaining a simplified artificial lens implantation technique and its more reliable fixing, another artificial eye lens has been devised as described in USSR Inventor's Certificate No. 858.819. In such an artificial lens the top loop-shaped leg is in effect composed of two lugs arranged opposite to each other in a horizontal plane of the lens in its top portion, and the plane of said loop-shaped leg is offered at an angle 5 to 8 degrees with the plane of the lens so as to establish springiness. A bottom supporting leg is also provided.
A disadvantage inherent in the aforesaid known artificial lens resides in the fact that it involves the formation of a large incision (up to 4 mm long) in the top portion of the iris, followed by application of a Supramid suture, which prolongs substantially the operative time and offers additional difficulties during the lens implantation procedure. Moreover, a possibility cannot be ruled out for the pupil deformation and enlargement of the iridotomy as a result of the suture cutting through thinned spherical changed structures resulting from a prolonged compression of the iridal tissues. This in turn may lead not only to dislodging but also to off-centring of the artifial eye lens. In addition, such an artificial eye lens may frequently be the cause of an inflammatory reaction of the eye due to forceful interaction of the lens supporting elements with the eye tissues rich in blood vessels and nerves.